In 2022, the Fort Myers Mural Society teamed up with Fort Myers’ Community Redevelopment Agency and Public Art Committee to install 53 murals on the concrete stanchions surrounding the river basin next to the Luminary Hotel. A few weeks later, surge from Hurricane Ian damaged seven of those stanchions. They were repaired this summer, and the Mural Society has now installed the last eight murals.
The river basin murals create an outdoor walkable art and history museum.
They were painted by 38 area artists on mural cloth, which was then affixed to cut-outs in each stanchion with a special epoxy that hardens the paint and protects it from moisture and fading.
Each mural is either a reproduction or composite of historical images of Fort Myers dating to 1850.
By using the Otocast app, people can hear audios and view depictions of Fort Myers early relationship to the Caloosahatchee River. The app also includes the photos each artist referenced, along with the artist’s bio.
The project contemplates a second phase, in which murals of Manuel A. Gonzalez, Harvie Heitman, Tootie McGregor and Dr. Ella Mae Piper will be added to the four obelisks that flank Edwards Drive.